Trainspotting 2: What to expect from Danny Boyle’s sequel

Ewen Bremner (left) as Spud and Ewan McGregor as Renton in the film Trainspotting.

Published:11:26Monday 21 September 2015

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EARLIER this month, filmmaker Danny Boyle committed to helming a sequel to Trainspotting, his bleak yet bitingly funny portrayal of squalor and addiction in an economically depressed 1980s Edinburgh.

As with the first film, the follow-up will be based on an Irvine Welsh novel – this time, Porno – which catches readers up on the lives Renton, Sick Boy, Spud and Begbie ten years on from the events of Trainspotting. Here’s what else we know – and expect – from the film:

1 Ewan McGregor will reprise his role as Renton

One of the biggest barriers facing a prospective sequel was the strained relationship between Boyle and Ewan McGregor, who played Renton in the 1996 film. Boyle’s casting of Leonardo di Caprio in The Beach, a role McGregor was in line to take, created “bad blood” between the pair. ““We’ve all moved on and there is a lot of water under the bridge now,” he said. “I miss working with Danny, I did some of my best work with him and he’s one of my favourite directors I’ve worked with.”

2 The rest of the original cast are up for it, too

Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller and Robert Carlyle have also told Boyle that they’ll return to play Spud, Sick Boy and Begbie respectively for the sequel. Miller and Carlyle are currently signed up to TV shows in the US, which seems to be the only major obstacle remaining to getting the film green-lit.

3 Fifty Shades Of Grey might alter the course of Porno

John Hodge’s script for Porno – which Boyle has already called “teriffic” – will draw heavily on Irvine Welsh’s novel, but it’s likely to take inspiration from other places, too. Welsh remarked two years ago that the emergence of the Fifty Shades Of Grey novels would render Porno “passé” by comparison – so the film may well depart from the book in its treatment of sex scenes.

4 It’s probably coming out next year

If all goes according to plan, the film is due for a 2016 release – the year that will coincide with Trainspotting’s 20th anniversary. The cast are mostly in place, and a script has been long since ready, so the film could yet be turned around with remarkable speed.

5 Fewer drugs, more sex?

The focus of the book is Sick Boy’s introduction to the pornography industry – and movies based on Irvine Welsh books tend not to hold back on depicting its subject matter. However, Boyle has said that the film will what will make the cut from the book.